This invention relates to the art of boat dock structures. This art is very old in the history of civilization.
The prior art shows many types of slips, wharfs, docks or like structures which are connected to the shore and comprise portions extending into the water either supported by buoys, floats, or by pilings which rest on the floor of the body of water. Also, there are pilings in the form of wooden logs on both sides of the dock, the logs serving the purpose of typing boats thereto.
It has long been known among members of boating circles that the structures of the prior art have certain drawbacks which reduce their usefulness. Among those drawbacks is the fact that the pilings supporting the docks are permanently within the water and are subject to erosion caused by water in summer and ice in winter. Similarly, the logs for tying the boats thereto suffer the same type of erosion.
Another disadvantage of the prior art dock structures is the frequently observed fact that through the action of waves, tides, and ice, the pilings and logs in the floor of the body of water are subjected to a slow process of loosening which leads to reduced stability and may even create dangers in the use of the docks.
The present invention avoids the noted drawbacks by a departure from the old concept of supporting the dock partly on the shore and partly on floating elements. The invention provides a dock structure that is anchored in a cantilever fashion in a reinforced section of the shore. The dock is under normal conditions always out of the water.
The invention also provides for guard rail stanchions being fastened onto the top of the dock on both sides thereof for tying the boats thereto. Such bumper guards make logs around and outside the dock superfluous. The anchoring of the dock in the reinforced shore section may be done in a rigid manner but may also be arranged such as to make the dock pivotable, between a horizontal and a vertical position. This provides the opportunity of removing the dock at the end of the boating season from the immediate influence of the water.
These and other advantages of the invention will be more clearly understood from a detailed description of the preferred embodiments as set forth below.